HAMMOND, La. -- Fittingly, Southeastern Louisiana began its first football game the way it ended its last football game some 18 years ago ... in the rain.
The Lions, who were playing their first game since 1985, had to overcome a 24-minute lightning delay and a sluggish start, but in the end, the Lion faithful were not disappointed.
Martin Hankins' 22-yard touchdown pass to Choni Francis with 6:29 remaining lifted the Lions to a 22-17 victory over Arkansas-Monticello in front of an overflow crowd of 9,708 at Strawberry Stadium.
Southeastern, a Division I-AA independent who will play a full Southland Conference schedule starting in 2005, played its first game since November 23, 1985, a 21-17, rain-soaked loss to Nicholls St. Eight weeks after that game, the program was disbanded for what would be 17 seasons due to budget constraints.
But after a $5 million fund raising drive and the hiring of two former Southeastern Conference head coaches in Lion head coach Hal Mumme and defensive coordinator Woody Widenhofer, the Lion faithful counted down the days until this night would come.
Trailing 17-16 with just under seven minutes remaining, the Lions caught a break when a low snap from center on a Boll Weevil punt attempt was recovered by Brad Bennett at the UAM 22.
Hankins, a true freshman who was 29-of-47 for 213 yards with no interceptions, took advantage of the Boll Weevil miscue on the first offensive play, finding Francis in the right corner of the end zone.
The Boll Weevils had a chance to win the game as it reached the SLU 35 with just over two minutes remaining, but Cory Allred was sacked and forced to fumble by Derrick Mincey. Allred picked up the ball, but he was called for intentional grounding at his own 35, allowing the Lions to take over and run out the clock.
Josh Taylor led the Lions with 10 receptions for 97 yards, as 11 different receivers caught passes in Mumme's pass-oriented offense.
Allred started at quarterback and was 16-of-31 for 250 yards, but he missed the third quarter with an injury.
UAM of Division II took a 17-16 lead with 8:45 remaining on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Allred to Devon Stewart.
The Boll Weevils took over at the SLU 45 when Hankins fumbled the exchange from center and Daniel Morris recovered.
After watching its offense fail to get into the end zone after twice getting inside the UAM 15 in the second quarter, Southeastern used its defense to score its first touchdown.
Free safety Vernon Russell picked off reserve quarterback Brian Pope over the middle and raced to the left corner of the end zone to put the Lions ahead 16-10 with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter. It was also fittingly that Russell's touchdown was similar to the final touchdown scored by the Lions in 1985 when Kervin Fontenette picked off a Doug Hudson pass and sprinted 100 yards for a score.
Russell began fall practice as a reserve at LSU, just 45 miles to the west, before deciding to transfer late last week. As a transfer from a Division I-A school to Division I-AA, Russell was immediately eligible.
The game provided an inauspicious start for the Lions, as Southeastern went three-and-out on its first drive, and after the Boll Weevils gained nine yards on their first offensive play, lightning flashed and thunder crackled, forcing the officials to send both teams scurrying for cover.
UAM came out of the 24-minute delay and drove to the game"s first score, a 24-yard field goal by Wes Baker with 6:06 gone in the contest, capping a 12-play, 88-yard drive.
UAM, a member of the Division II Gulf South Conference, started its second drive at its own 7, but like its first possession, the Boll Weevils had little trouble in overcoming the poor field position by driving the 93 yards in 10 plays to a touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Allred to Shamar Brown for a 10-0 lead with 1:18 left in the opening period.
Southeastern, which was limited to six yards on its first two possessions, got on the board on its drive following the Boll Weevil touchdown, getting a 47-yard
field goal by Hess Crockett just under four minutes into the second quarter.
The Lions would enter the red zone on their other second-quarter possessions, but each time, penalties cost Southeastern a shot at a touchdown. Crockett kicked field goals of 31 and 28 yards in the final 2:30 of the first half to leave UAM ahead 10-9 at intermission.
Mincey led the Lions' defense with nine tackles and three sacks, while Birk McGee tied Mincey for a team high with nine stops.
Scoring Summary
Arkansas-Monticello 10 0 0 6-- 17
Southeastern Louisiana 0 9 7 6-- 22
FIRST QUARTER
UAM - FG Wes Baker 27, 8:54
UAM - Shamar Brown 16 pass from Cory Allred (Baker kick), 1:18
SECOND QUARTER
SLU - FG Hess Crockett 47, 11:04
SLU - FG Crockett 31, 2:30
SLU - FG Crockett 28, :23
THIRD QUARTER
SLU - Vernon Russell 29 interception return (Crockett kick), 7:41
FOURTH QUARTER
UAM - Devon Stewart 15 pass from Allred (Baker kick), 8:45
SLU - Choni Francis 22 pass from Martin Hankins (run failed), 6:29
A - 9,708
UAM SLU
FIRST DOWNS 19 17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 26-38 23-30
PASSING YDS (NET) 281 226
Passes Att-Comp-Int 41-19-1 49-30-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 67-319 72-256
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 3--6 5-18
Kickoff Returns-Yards 5-63 4-91
Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 1-29
Punts (Number-Avg) 7-42.7 6-44.8
Fumbles-Lost 4-1 3-2
Penalties-Yards 16-116 13-101
Possession Time 26:58 33:02
Third-Down Conversions 4 of 14 5 of 19
Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 2 2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 3-3 2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards 2-14 4-22
RUSHING: Arkansas-Monticello - Craig Reed 12-49; Cory Allred 13-17; TEAM 1-minus 28. Southeastern La. - Ray Perkins 15-42; Choni Francis 1-4; Scott Goldberg 1-2; TEAM 1-minus 4; Martin Hankins 5-minus 14.
PASSING: Arkansas-Monticello - Cory Allred 16-31-0-250; Brian Pope 3-10-1-31. Southeastern La. - Martin Hankins 29-47-0-213; Brian Sheppard 1-2-0-13.
RECEIVING: Arkansas-Monticello - Devon Stewart 8-131; Rodney Montgomery 5-79; Shamar Brown 2-33; Tyrone Bennett 2-26; Craig Reed 2-12. Southeastern La. - Josh Taylor 10-97; Brian Sheppard 5-52; Ray Perkins 4-10; Choni Francis 3-43; Jeffrey Howard 3-5; Trey Willie 1-13; Chris Johnson 1-7; Jerren Pierce 1-5; Brooks Jordan 1-minus 2; Scott Goldberg 1-minus 4.
